Product Creation Experts – Interview With Tiffany Dow

Today’s interview is with product creator extraordinaire Tiffany Dow. She’s put out more products (both PLR and regular info products) than I can count and every one I’ve picked up has been awesome. She’s one of my favorite product creators to follow because she’s honest, ethical, and really provides value to her readers and customers. When I started emailing people for interviews, asking Tiff was a no-brainer. Notes by me will be added in blue.

Q: The first product I ever bought from you was PLR ATM when I was still fairly new to online marketing. Since then I’ve picked up another couple of guides. How many products do you have on the market right now?

Q: Which of your info products has been the most successful? Why do you think that is the case?

A: My original Squidoo guide was the most successful because there was no other product on it at the time, it was a free platform for people to use (so no other tools required), and all the gurus jumped on the promotion of the guide because it was unique and being asked about in all of the forums.

Q: You have products covering quite a few different topics. How do you come up with the ideas for them? I know you were one of the first to write about Pinterest as well as Squidoo. Your vlogging guide will also be one of the first of its kind. (I’ve looked and there aren’t really any vlogging guides that aren’t aimed at teens wanting to become popular on YouTube.)

A: I listen. I listen to what people ask me in emails, what they’re curious about in forums, and what they say in the comments on my blog. The ideas don’t come from typical “keyword tools” – they come straight from people verbalizing it online and me paying attention to it.

Q: Once you have an idea for a product, what are the first steps you take when creating it?

A: I create products the same way I review other people’s products – I implement and take notes. If it’s Squidoo, I create an account and then a lens in a step-by-step manner, making screen shots and discussing not only the steps, but my feelings about the steps.

Was I frustrated about something? Do I wish something worked differently? I want people implementing my course to know they’re not alone in their thought process because there’s nothing more irritating to get flustered and assume everyone else is just flying through it smoothly. (This is so true. There’s nothing worse than thinking you’re the only one that has trouble doing something while implementing a course.)

Sometimes I get a guinea pig or five to test out my product and see if there are steps missing or any confusion before I take it live in the marketplace.

Q: One of the big benefits a lot of people talk about when it comes to product creation is that affiliates can promote your stuff for you. Is there anything you do to actively recruit affiliates?

A: I used to believe creating good products with low refund rates was enough. Then for PLR ATM and Ghostwriting Cash, I created an affiliate toolbox. This has pre-made emails, banners, reports, etc. for affiliates to use. That helps big time! (I know as an affiliate I love toolboxes. Even if I don’t use them, it shows that the product creator is serious. Banners also make it easy to keep promoting a product you really love.)

For my 30 Day Vlog Plan, I WILL be “going after” some JV partners and affiliates – actively emailing a few people to see if they’ll get onboard. And I want to have a special discount for the first week to encourage people to promote so their list gets a better deal. (I’ll be interested to see how this goes.)

Q: The biggest issue new product creators seem to have (myself included) is nervousness and doubt about their product. Does that ever go away or is it something you have to learn to get past?

A: For the most part it goes away – once you’ve kind of built a name for yourself, you know for a fact that you barely get refunds and you hear people thanking you repeatedly for what you created. That all helps.

But there’s ALWAYS (for me) this little voice saying, “What if people don’t like it?” Or worse, “What if they say this isn’t up to my usual quality?”

But really, that just makes me push myself harder and work to ensure I don’t let my people down. And I know that if it ever DID happen, I have the ethics in place to correct the problem. If I got 20 emails saying that my lessons were thin or hard to understand, I would halt sales and fix it and test it on those people before making it go live again. (I just keep reminding myself that if there is a problem, I can take the sales page down, fix it, and put it back up. It would suck, but I’d do it because I’m not here to rip people off.)

Q: Here is a question from one of my readers: I’m a new blogger and I’ve been thinking about creating my first info product. My niche site isn’t very popular yet. My list is small and I don’t have a social media following. Shouldn’t I wait until I have an audience to actually release my product to?

A: Wait for what? Let me ask you this – would you rather wait until you had a list of 10,000 people. Or, would you rather launch a product now to 10 people who tell 10 friends each or post in a forum saying they loved it – and let the snowball effect take place? (Great point!)

Having a product gives you credibility in the marketplace. Then you’re not “just a blogger,” you’re an entrepreneur – an author – a teacher! I never go by size of my list. My list is about 9,000 people (mainly because I email daily). Others have lists of 100,000 – no one has ever said I converted at a lower percentage than the big guys. While they convert at 7% if they’re lucky, I convert at 20-30% consistently.

Q: What is the number one tip you would give to a first time product creator?

A: Be as thorough as you can and don’t go into this all meek and mild – let your excitement spill over into your customers’ minds because they’re looking for a positive leader to guide them. Wait, that was two tips 🙂 – but thoroughness is important because you don’t want to see this as a toe dip in the pool of product creation – you want to run and do a cannonball – make a splash.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions Tiff! If you haven’t already, head over to Tiffany’s blog. She’s holding a product creation challenge that starts soon and she’s been blogging about it to help us prepare. You can find her newest blog posts about product creation here.

The next interview will be posted up over the weekend. Follow me on Twitter to know as soon as it’s posted!

Great interview, Amanda. Tiff is an excellent choice, a leader and role model for anyone that wants to be part of the online marketing community. As you well know, Tiff is the real deal, the anti-guru guru, well known for her integrity and unapologetic disdain for the scammers and the unethical promoters.

Great interview, Amanda.
I admire Tiffany a great deal and you, also. As a product creator I trust her completely. Sometimes I send her an email, with a short question about something related to a product and she’s never too busy to answer, usually within a very short period of time. I hate to bother her and she assures me that it’s no bother at all, it’s what she’s there for. I can follow someone like that. Thanks for doing this interview. I look forward to the next one. 🙂Ruth Clark recently posted..New Posting Schedule

Ever since I first started working online years ago she’s been happy to questions when I can’t seem to find the answers myself. She’s the type of blogger and product creator I’m happy to follow because she cares deeply about her readers. They aren’t just buyers, they are friends who trust her and she doesn’t take that lightly. She’s a great role model in this industry.

Excellent interview Amanda. Tiffany is the type of blogger and product creator that we should all be aspiring to be. She is so busy, but still finds the time to answer people’s emails promptly and with helpful info.

Your blog is beautiful, the colors fit your your awesome personality! The subject you touched on is very timely as well and who better then Tiff to help explain product creation.

You may not know this, but this blog post is not only inspiration, but product creation for those that come here later to learn from the steps you have taken and the value you have created for not only us but them as well.

Great information, thanks for sharing Tiff’s interview. We are our own worst critiques! I always second guess myself even when I know my work is good. Fearful of what others will think, which is what is holding me back!

What a great interview! Thanks to both of you for sharing this with us. Any information from someone as well known and productive as Tiffany Dow is a blessing.Jessica Kihara recently posted..Real Estate PLR Articles – 9 Pack

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